Looking to get back into the game

[MoridinUK]

Hi all,

I used to play Kerbal a lot but I got stuck in v1.3x for ages and my interest waned.

Now I want to dust off kerbal and get back into it, I see there are dlc's now and I'm unsure what I need to get a modded game working?

I mean I used to rely on the Kerbal Engineer Mod, trajectories mod, precise manoeuvre node and verticle velocity mod.  I also had all kinds of parts mods too around fuel and mining... 

I've no idea what's available for which version or if Ckan is up to date is there a 'Beginners guide'?  I mean I learnt what I needed originally watching the 5thHorseman's youtube channel!!  (that was version 0.9x though)

I know this has been asked a bazillion times, but this father of 3 is time limited and hope the community can help me jump back in.

A more up to date youtube series would be perfect too... 

Any suggestions?

[Mikki]

@MoridinUK

It`s a great time to come back to KSP... I guess many of us just started a new career to enjoy the new breaking ground DLC... 

I started yesterday a new normal career with MH and BG, and it`s slightly easier (and way more fun), we also have stock DeltaV readout, precise maneuver editing and some more nice shenanigans which make the game a whole new experience.

We can gather rocks and stuff on other planets, science galore and ...robotics!

Cheerz!

Edited June 2, 2019 by Mikki
precise maneuver

[MoridinUK]

I still think I'll be no use what so ever without some equivalent of the trajectories mod...  Even with it landing where I wanted was a nightmare... How do you all manage?

[Long Finger]

9 minutes ago, MoridinUK said:

Even with it landing where I wanted was a nightmare... How do you all manage?

F5, have a go, explode. F9, have a go, explode, F9, ... and so on, success!

[MoridinUK]

31 minutes ago, Long Finger said:

F5, have a go, explode. F9, have a go, explode, F9, ... and so on, success!

The true kerbal way!  

[Epicdreamer]

And next to that now there is an 'altitude above ground' button instead of only above sea level. Makes judging when to burn for a landing easier. I've just started a new career without KER for the first time in years, and I find it very doable. Couldn't help myself sticking to pure stock though, I need KAC. And Ckan is still good to use, even has a version compatability option nowadays.

It is indeed a very good time to return to KSP. It has grown up quite well!

[MoridinUK]

37 minutes ago, Epicdreamer said:

And next to that now there is an 'altitude above ground' button instead of only above sea level. Makes judging when to burn for a landing easier. I've just started a new career without KER for the first time in years, and I find it very doable. Couldn't help myself sticking to pure stock though, I need KAC. And Ckan is still good to use, even has a version compatability option nowadays.

It is indeed a very good time to return to KSP. It has grown up quite well!

 I hated landings... I almost always had to use the verticle velocity mod... (  I'll give it a boot in 1.7.1 and see if I want the dlcs...

[Barklight]

Oof, I haven't opened up KSP in over a year.  Still download the updates when they come out, though.  Saw the expansion post on my Discord overlay and was surprised.  Think I'll get back into it today, too   Maybe a new career game without any mods just to see how it feels.

I've been at this for a while!

Edit:  Just realized the MH icon changed this update

Edited June 2, 2019 by Barklight

[Geschosskopf]

19 hours ago, MoridinUK said:

Now I want to dust off kerbal and get back into it, I see there are dlc's now and I'm unsure what I need to get a modded game working?

Same shape as you but a few days earlier.  As I understand things, if a mod says it work in 1.6, maybe even 1.5, it should work in 1.7.1.  But I can't say for sure as I'm currently doing a stock career to get the feel of things.  Although I hear Trajectories is an exception.

That said, you no longer need KER to build ships as you can get a per-stage dV and TWR in any stock situation in the VAB these days.  Fillepe must be rolling over in his grave.  Haven't tried docking yet but I have semi-confidence that the built-in RCS-balancer in precise mode will make that only a minor pain.

[MoridinUK]

 

9 hours ago, Barklight said:

Oof, I haven't opened up KSP in over a year.  Still download the updates when they come out, though.  Saw the expansion post on my Discord overlay and was surprised.  Think I'll get back into it today, too   Maybe a new career game without any mods just to see how it feels.

I've been at this for a while!

Edit:  Just realized the MH icon changed this update

That seems similar, but much better organised!

2 hours ago, Geschosskopf said:

Same shape as you but a few days earlier.  As I understand things, if a mod says it work in 1.6, maybe even 1.5, it should work in 1.7.1.  But I can't say for sure as I'm currently doing a stock career to get the feel of things.  Although I hear Trajectories is an exception.

That said, you no longer need KER to build ships as you can get a per-stage dV and TWR in any stock situation in the VAB these days.  Fillepe must be rolling over in his grave.  Haven't tried docking yet but I have semi-confidence that the built-in RCS-balancer in precise mode will make that only a minor pain.

So the KER replacement stuff is in stock, Trajectories was always a slow one to get updated.  I just could never figure out how anyone deliberately landed in a specific spot without it!

[Geschosskopf]

10 hours ago, MoridinUK said:

So the KER replacement stuff is in stock, Trajectories was always a slow one to get updated.  I just could never figure out how anyone deliberately landed in a specific spot without it!

For the KER stuff, there's now a dV button on the stock toolbar, and each stage always shows its dV both in the VAB/SPH and in flight.  In the editors, you can click the dV button and set the stage dV to be calculated for any planet/moon and also from sea level to vacuum, with all points in between.  This helps building stages for different environments.  Normally, you just see the dV number for each stage but if you hit the "Show All" button on the dV button's menu, you can see TWR, burn time, etc.

As to landing on a specific spot, MJ can do that just fine.  And it's possible in stock, too.  There's an ancient Scott Manley tutorial about it from years ago but I don't think the mechanics have changed any since then.

[Xeldrak]

I'm also back looking into ksp after along time. My biggest question so far is: Can you somehow sort the tanks by diameter? 

Back then I used to know every single tank by heart. Now it's: This one? No, to big. This one? No, way to big. This one? No, to small. This one? What kind of size is that?

Edited June 3, 2019 by Xeldrak

[Geschosskopf]

6 hours ago, Xeldrak said:

Can you somehow sort the tanks by diameter? 

Yup.  There are several ways to do so, but the simplest is just to click the "Size" filter at the top of the parts list.

[Xeldrak]

On 6/4/2019 at 2:01 AM, Geschosskopf said:

Yup.  There are several ways to do so, but the simplest is just to click the "Size" filter at the top of the parts list.

Well, you had me doubting my competence there for a minute, as I've allready tried out clicking the size filter. 

But clicking size does not sort by diameter. If I sort by size, it sorts the Kerbodyne S3-3600 Tank (size extra large) above the Rockomax Jumbo 64 (size large), wich is above the Kerbodyne S4-128 Tank (size extra large). 
Come to think of it, I'm not sure by what exactly the "size" filter sorts - I not volume or weight either...

 

[Geschosskopf]

11 minutes ago, Xeldrak said:

Well, you had me doubting my competence there for a minute, as I've allready tried out clicking the size filter. 

But clicking size does not sort by diameter. If I sort by size, it sorts the Kerbodyne S3-3600 Tank (size extra large) above the Rockomax Jumbo 64 (size large), wich is above the Kerbodyne S4-128 Tank (size extra large). 
Come to think of it, I'm not sure by what exactly the "size" filter sorts - I not volume or weight either...

Well, you can type 1.25m, 2.5m, or whatever into the search box and it will only show tanks of that diameter.

[Eriksonn]

or you can press the advanced button at the top left corner and then filter by cross section there

[maceemiller]

I haven't really played since February yet I have MH and BG. I've never liked the career mode however  I'm feeling that this will be the best option though to "re-learn" how to play KSP